BACKGROUND Since the advent of integrated residency programs in the 1960s, the Plastic Surgery (PRS) match has become increasingly competitive, with 1.8 applicants per available residency position in 2022. This study aims to determine characteristics of the 2016-2022 integrated PRS resident cohort associated with successful matching and to identify attributes of medical schools that produced the most integrated PRS residents within this six-year period. METHODS Using publicly available websites, demographic and training characteristics of residents at ACGME-accredited programs, and class size, affiliated PRS training programs, and presence of Plastic Surgery interest groups (PSIG) at U.S. allopathic medical schools were collected and analyzed.
RESULTS Of the 1122 matched residents, 48% were female, 5% were international medical graduates, 99% held MD degrees, 13% held additional graduate-level degrees, and 33% were awarded A?A. For U.S. allopathic medical schools, the presence of a home PRS program (8.9 vs 4.5, p-value < 0.001) or PSIG (7.8 vs 4.9, p-value = 0.001) was associated with a higher mean number of graduates who matched into PRS. All 101 medical schools affiliated with a home program successfully matched at least one medical student during this period. Georgetown University had the largest number of its graduates match PRS at 31, and New York University had the largest percentage of its graduates match PRS at 3.17%. Schools with both an integrated and independent program (10.6) had more graduates enter PRS, compared to those with integrated only (8.9) or independent only (5.7) (p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS Nearly all integrated PRS residents in the 2016-2022 cohort graduated from U.S. allopathic medical schools. Additionally, medical schools that produced the greatest number of PRS residents were affiliated with a home training program and/or PSIG. Further exploration of factors associated with matching could identify attributes that may advantage or disadvantage applicants, while working towards the goal of improving equity and diversity in PRS training.
Table 1, Page 1. Ranking of U.S. allopathic medical schools that produced graduates who matched into an integrated Plastic Surgery residency during the period of 2016-2022.
Table 1, Page 2. Ranking of U.S. allopathic medical schools that produced graduates who matched into an integrated Plastic Surgery residency during the period of 2016-2022.
Table 1, Page 3. Ranking of U.S. allopathic medical schools that produced graduates who matched into an integrated Plastic Surgery residency during the period of 2016-2022.
